French Open 2025: Carlos Alcaraz made to work onerous in Spherical 3, Iga Swiatek rolls on

Carlos Alcaraz made heavy climate of his French Open conflict with Damir Dzumhur however moved into the fourth spherical whereas world primary Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen blazed a path on a sizzling Friday at Roland Garros.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her bid for a fifth Roland Garros title when the fifth seed stayed calm on a searing afternoon on Courtroom Philippe Chatrier to beat Jaqueline Cristian whereas Holger Rune edged a brutal five-setter with Quentin Halys. | French Open Day 6 Highlights |

Alcaraz was anticipated to sizzle within the cool of the night however the second seed discovered himself in sizzling water after his degree dipped towards Dzumhur earlier than recovering to seal a 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-4 win and e-book a conflict with Ben Shelton.

“It was underneath management through the first two units, after which I do not know what occurred,” Alcaraz stated.

“I feel he began to play, however I let him get into the match, get into an excellent rhythm. I let him get into his recreation and I did not know what to do.

“I used to be a break down within the fourth, and I simply tried to calm myself slightly bit, suppose a lot clearer, and attempt to do the great issues once more. Simply blissful to take the possibilities he gave me within the fourth set and play nice tennis on the finish.”

SABALENKA CRUISES INTO ROUND 4

Sabalenka prevented the worst of the warmth within the morning however needed to stave off the plucky Olga Danilovic to win 6-2 6-3 and proceed her bid for a maiden Roland Garros title after main triumphs on the Australian and U.S. Opens.

The three-time Grand Slam champion appeared in ruthless type whereas racing forward 5-0 however Danilovic prevented the bagel by taking the sixth recreation on serve and pulled a break again.

The resurgence didn’t final lengthy as Sabalenka closed out the opening set with one other break and withstood a stern check within the second set to beat her Thirty fourth-ranked opponent.

Zheng, who gained her greatest title ultimately yr’s Paris Video games, continued her good type on the Roland Garros clay because the Chinese language eighth seed made the second week by beating Grand Slam debutant Victoria Mboko 6-3 6-4 at Courtroom Simonne Mathieu.

That match was halted briefly when the 18-year-old Mboko was down 5-3 within the second set as a fan wanted medical consideration however Zheng was not affected when play resumed and rapidly dispatched the Canadian.

Former semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova required remedy for a blister on her proper hand earlier than the American secured a 7-6(4) 6-4 victory over Clara Tauson to achieve the final 16 of the key the place she introduced herself in 2019.

‘BIG HITTERS’

Anisimova, seeded sixteenth, takes on Sabalenka within the subsequent spherical aiming to enhance her 5-2 win-loss file towards the highest seed.

“We’re each massive hitters, so I am certain we’ll be going at it forwards and backwards,” Anisimova stated.

Liudmila Samsonova will anticipate to be examined towards Zheng after beating Dayana Yastremska 6-2 6-3.

SWIATEK EXTENDS ROLAND GARROS STREAK

Swiatek prolonged her spectacular French Open successful streak to 24 matches after seeing off Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5 because the temperature soared.

“It was 20 levels Celsius once I performed my first match however at present it was 30 levels,” Swiatek stated.

“It isn’t simple to regulate however I’ve performed in each situation. Final yr on the Olympics it was tremendous sizzling, so I used to be prepared.”

Up subsequent for Swiatek is fellow Grand Slam champion Elena Rybakina, who ousted 2017 Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-2.

Final yr’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini eased previous Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-4 6-1 and faces one other Ukrainian after Elina Svitolina beat Bernarda Pera 7-6(4) 7-6(5).

Eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti blew cold and hot towards Mariano Navone earlier than successful 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-2 whereas Rune beat Halys 4-6 6-2 5-7 7-5 6-2.

“It was a brutal match,” Rune stated.

“I attempted to alter issues … I needed to put extra spin on the ball due to the circumstances.

“The participant who took the alternatives to be aggressive was the participant who gained.”

Tommy Paul additionally wanted 5 units, the twelfth seed defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3 3-6 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3, whereas American followers had extra pleasure as thirteenth seed Shelton downed Matteo Gigante 6-3 6-3 6-4 and Frances Tiafoe beat Sebastian Korda 7-6(6) 6-3 6-4.

Alexei Popyrin overcame Nuno Borges 6-4 7-6(11) 7-6(5) to fly the flag for Australia whereas Daniel Altmaier despatched Hamad Medjedovic packing 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2.

French hopes suffered a blow as Arthur Fils pulled out of Saturday’s conflict towards Andrey Rublev with a again harm.